Flawed Design
by Halogirl3000
Summary: We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends. KakashixOc
1. Prologue

{Hatake} .: Flawed Design :. {Kakashi} .: Prologue :.

By: Halogirl3000

~A Couple Miles West of Konoha~

The night was young.

The pitch black sky draped over the horizons in its proud glory. Stars twinkled and winked down upon the earth with their calming glow. They stretched far and wide, creating the spectacle of a milky twilight. Dark blues and purples blended into the sable backgrounds, bringing out the beauty of the heavens for anyone who cared to see.

Shadows consumed the land below the tree tops. Darkness entrapped those who walked upon the ground in their depths, shading the dirt land in its presence. The night was dark, especially this far out, away from the touch of any human made light source. It was completely natural. The way the moon shined down in its radiance, lighting the world in a luminous glow that seemed almost divine. The celestial orb lit the night realm. Casting it's pale, milky rays down upon the unsuspecting world it watched over.

The night was cool.

Leaves rustled in their perches from the multiple tree's that made up the outer ring of the forest. The wind blew across the air, clinging to every surface as it made its way across the sky. It chilled to the bone, regarding the world with cold indifference as its icy caress met little resistance. No one would be caught unaware in this cold night, all finding shelter in the warm embraces of their beds. All except for one.

A shadow made its way across this landscape, ignoring the biting chill of the wind, and the fear of being lost in the shadows. Neither were cause for worry, as it had been through worse conditions multiple times. There had been colder nights it had endured, and it thrived in the shadows. After all, concealment was part of its job.

It blurred in and out of existence as it made its way across the forest and through the thick branches that stood in its way. Dodging the oncoming limbs as if it were child's play, the speed at which it was going doing little to hinder its natural ability.

It had traveled far, beyond the borders of the Villages in the Sand to reach its destination. Traveling through the large country, and the few smaller ones that stood in between in less then two days. The pace it set was unmatchable except for perhaps an ANBU operative. Which it most certainly was not. Few would be able to make this journey in the amount of time it had allowed itself, and even fewer could accomplish this feat without being winded. As it was not.

The cause for this journey caused it great worry. The pride it had held in being untraceable had been shattered with the delivery of a simple letter. Calling it into conference, in a far away village that had been abandoned years earlier.

~Flashback~

A scarlet letter sat on an ordinary wooden table. The dark red pigment of the envelope jumped out from the surroundings, brightly calling attention to itself, being the only thing of color in this cabin of an in-between residence.

The individual was suspicious. The letter had not been there before it had left to see to a few thing in the tiny little village that was a few miles away. The doors were left locked, and had been as such when the occupant of the shack had returned. The windows seemed untouched, the dust that had clung to the panels was still in place, as were most of the traps and seals that it used to protect the place while it resided in the house. Only one was broken.

One of the seals on the upstairs windows was broken when it had returned and inspected all the accessible spots the place held. A seal that was rigged to electrify any who touched it, was skillfully broken from the outside.

Crumpling the useless seal in its hand, the being returned to the letter at the table. Drawing a kunai from what seemed like no where, they allowed the blade to run across the secured flap on the back of the envelop, easily slitting the flimsy paper from the rest of it.

With little care, the being pulled the letter from the confines of its prison. Letting the scarlet envelop fall to the ground with near little thought, it unfolded the paper, and started to read.

The Konohagakure symbol was etched in green lettering at the top of the page. The swirled leaf character brought a frown to the lips of the being, instantly causing it to be on guard.. The page was filled with words and letters. Surrounded by complex, yet simple designs that spanned the edges of the page. An intricate and slightly messy cursive writing spanned from one side to the other, it's words drawing attention, as the beings eyes scanned over every monogram that the note held.

'To the last remaining member of the noble Fujiwara clan,

I apologize that I must send this letter, rather then talk face to face, but the matter could not be put off for that amount of time. You are being called back to Konoha. The reasons why could not be disclosed in this letter, for fear of it falling into enemy hands(the being scoffed at this point). All that can be said is that any intention of defying this request will be grounds for treachery, and ANBU Black Op's will be called to retrieve you. I strongly suggest you comply. When you arrive, you are to meet the guards posted at the gate's entrance. You will be escorted to the Hokage's office, and the purpose of your return will be uncovered upon that time. I neither want, not like the idea of sending ANBU after you, so do not force me to. That, is your only warning.

Sincerely,

The Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves'

After being read, the letter found itself in between clenched fists, shaking slightly from the strain of repressing the red hot fury that tore through the beings body.

~End Flashback~

And thus, the being found itself traveling the span of many nations in very little time. After all, who in their right minds would keep a Hokage waiting.

~*~

~The Hokage's Office, Konoha~

The consistent drumming sound echoed through the silent room, and Tsunade found her self-control waver, if only for a moment.

It was to damn late for this.

Tsunade's usual cocky and grinning face was stretched thin. Her lips drew together in serious anticipation. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the door that remained unmoving across the room. Her long blonde hair was pulled together in their usual fashion, forming pig tails at the base of her head. She leaned her forehead in to her hand that was perched on the table at the elbow. Rubbing it slowly, trying to ease the headache that as slowly taking form behind her temples. Maybe she should have held off on the sake.

'_Tch, yeah right! I'll need it after this is over. It's just going to be one thing after another. Where's Jirayai when I need him. He could've handled this. God knows he deserves the headache that this person can dish out.'_ Tsunade's thoughts reflected her annoyance at the current predicament. It was going to be a long night. Regardless of whether the guest arrived or not.

Tsunade sat in a council room, the table being pulled out and formed in half a circle. Every few feet or so a man or woman sat, just as serious as the Slug Princess herself. All in this room were ninja, as was to be expected in this ninja village. They knew who they were waiting for, and felt just an nervous about what was to come as the next person, except for Tsunade. She just wanted to get this over with the least amount of casualties possible.

"How long are we going to wait?" One of the ninja asked. Other nodded their heads in agreement, already having waited a good three hours in the room with nothing to do.

"Patience," Tsunade said, hardly turning her head towards the ninja who spoke out. "We'll wait as long as we have to."

"But isn't it a bit early to be waiting her for the Fujiwara? I mean, the Black Op who delivered the message only returned earlier today from dropping the letter off. Shouldn't we allow a few more traveling days before we assemble?" Another shinobi questioned. Tsunade nodded, and could not reprimand this person for the question. It was a logical one, after all.

"You don't know this Fujiwara. This is the last day that they would arrive, if they decided to come at all." A third person commented. Bored black eyes scanned the inhabitants of the room, assessing them all with slight irritation. Brown hair fell below the Konoha headband that was draped backwards upon his head, bandana style. He wore the mandatory chunin vest, on top of the dark blue turtle neck sweater and matching pants. A senbon needle stuck out between his lips, which were pulled together in an overused frown, regardless of the man's good humor.

"Genma's right. This is the last day we'll allow for them to come. If they miss it, ANBU will be issued out to track them down and get them back." Tsunade said, straitening herself in her chair, and staring down her subordinates with a keen eyes. "However, hopefully it won't come to that."

"So their skills are really that good? I've heard rumors about the one we're waiting for, but I just assumed-" The only other female in the room trailed off, looking at the window that paneled the wall behind them. Others turned to look, curious as to what had caught the shinobi's attention.

A pitch black cat was wedging itself in between the panels that lined the outer wall. One of the windows had been left open, if only to let some air into that god forsaken room. Somehow, the feline had been able to jump a good three stories and managed to open the window enough to let itself in.

The group of feared warriors watched in amusement as the cat practically slid itself down from the window, letting its front paws guide it down from the high ledge, and land gracefully on the carpeted flooring.

Once the cat deemed the floor safe, it looked up at the other inhabitants of the room. Piercing golden eyes looked about itself in curiosity, almost as if it were taking every thing into memory. A loud 'meow' followed after, as the cat started walking forward, and with one strong leap, landed on the table.

"Well would you look at that! The little thing found its way in. Isn't it cute!" Genma's sarcastic tone drew out a few laughs from the group, each finding the cat a bit comical. Grinning down at the cat, Genma let his hand travel towards it, about to grab the clump of extra flesh at the base of the neck.

With surprisingly quick movement, the cat struck first. Its mouth opened to reveal sharp, white fangs, and it soon found a use for them, plunging them into the exposed skin of Genma's hand. Pulling back jerkily, Genma glared down at the small assailant. The cat hissed darkly back at him, giving warning to Genma's actions, and daring him to try them again.

"Oh what's wrong Genma? Did the little cat hurt you?" One person jibbed from a few seats down. This received a chuckle from almost everyone, and caused Genma to send a glare down at the speaker.

"That's not funny. That thing is the devil! He almost bit me!" Genma cried back, desperately trying to salvage the remaining pieces of his pride. The female shinobi scoffed at him.

"Serves you right. You shouldn't have messed with it. It's most likely a stray, so just leave it alone." Genma proceeded to send the woman a glare, which she readily returned.

Tsunade sighed as she watched two of her respected ninja continue their pointless banter. It was pathetic really. Two fearsome warriors were reduced to bickering about something as unimportant as a cat. She felt her headache pound once more as they continued to increase in volume, drawing others into the verbal brawl as well. Soon, the entire room was in an uproar.

"This is ridiculous!" Tsunade sighed to herself, letting her irritation roll off her body in strong waves. But the other ninja seemed to ignore it, continuing on with their betty conflict. Tsunade sat in her chair, contemplating what types of punishments she was legally allowed to induce upon her subordinates. A small movement caught her attention before her thoughts had reached spending time with Ibiki.

Letting her gaze slip to the side, Tsunade saw the cat had made its way to her end of the table. With small steps, it drew closer, inspecting the cup of sake Tsunade had close by. Tsunade felt her lips twitch in an almost grin, distracted from the chaos in the room by this small feline.

The cat allowed itself to sit in front of the cup, leaning towards it with an open curiosity. Tsunade allowed the cat to sniff the contents of the cup, letting her gaze study the cat with an intense concentration. Something about the cat put her on edge. It wasn't enough for her to deem it a threat, but there was an odd sense of familiarity that threw Tsunade off.

It seemed like a nice cat. It's pitch black fur was nice and soft. It gleamed with a healthy shine that shouldn't be possible for a stray that stayed out in the streets all day and night. It was lean as well. Worked muscles were seen through the skin, not enough to be overly apparent, but upon a close inspection they were obvious and strongly defined.

The most unnerving thing about the cat however, were the eyes. Startling golden eyes gleamed with intelligence and what seemed to be a mischievous tint. They were extremely unique, Tsunade had only met a handful of individuals, animal or otherwise, that had gold eyes, but this hue surpassed all others. There was striking ness that affiliated itself with the bright eyes. Power was radiating off the gaze in what seemed like ease. It cut through all it looked upon, an artic and frosty indifference piercing across between the individual who was foolish enough to draw its attention. And yet, at the same time there was sense of self-control and undeniable will within the gaze. Both dignified and disciplined, and stood out with poise in the face of adversities.

Tsunade shook her head, riding those deep thought from her mind. It was a cat, nothing more an nothing else.

Said cat was currently finding the drink even more appealing then first glance suggested. It was hunched forward, as if about to pounce on the drink, should it put up a fight in retaliation from its oncoming onslaught. Drawing it's face close to the cup, it allowed its furry, whiskered lips to part, and let its rough, pink tongue touch the cooling substance of Tsuade's alcohol.

With a cry of dismay, Tsunade tried to push the cat away from her beloved drink. Sending a small curse out towards Jiraiya(after all, **everything** was his fault), she practically vaulted from her chair, and started 'shooing' the cat away. For all the trouble, the cat only pulled its head away, and sent Tsunade a look that could be interpreted as '_You do know you look like a fool, right?'_

Tsunade growled slightly, recognizing the look, and not appreciating getting it from a lowly cat. She glared down at the ball of fur, and met its eyes in a war that most people would call childish. With a cattish grin, the cat leaped backwards away from the enraged sannin-turned-hokage. Performing a back flip in midair, the cat landed gracefully on it's padded paws. Its eyes looking up into Tsunade's with a sense of victory and troublesome achievement, on Tsunade's part at least.

The action caught the attention of the quarreling ninja's as well. All looked upon the cat with confusion. Animals could hardly be expected to perform such feats. At least, no common stray animals. Ninja animals, were another matter however.

"Touchy. You haven't changed a bit, have you Tsunade?" The voice drifted through the room. It was undoubtedly smug, and traveled the span of the room with power. The voice was a woman's, and flowed from the throat of the cat in smooth tones. The cat sat back on its hunches, as if the ninja that surrounded her were nothing to be concerned about, and paid no attention to them.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she heard the cat talk. The voice was familiar, it was undeniable. The being that was the cat was who Tsunade had been waiting for. The shock that accompanied that development was apparent.

The shinobi that were in the room reacted hostilely, as was expected. This individual was dangerous, the records could account for that, and a few of them had met her personally. No one would make the mistake of underestimating her. The consequences often were deadly.

Sensing that her subordinates would not stay still for long, Tsunade held up a hand, pausing them as they were all about to lung forward at attack the seemingly oblivious animal.

'_Cocky pain in the ass. She knows that these guys are ready to skewer her, and she hasn't batted an eyes. She hasn't changed in all these years, as unbelievable as that seems.' _Tsunade glared down the cat, who was currently licking her paw, and rubbing it against her face in a bored fashion.

"So, you really came." Tsunade's voice called the cat's attention. The cat looked up at her, golden eyes flashing in both curiosity, and warning. She would not hold back if an attack was made, and broken bones would be the results.

"Welcome back to Konoha, Fujiwara Zakuro."

~*~

**Ramblings of an Author:** Well, that was the prologue. I don't have much to say for this entry, since it is only the first of many, but I'd just like to say that messages would be appreciated, and the senders will be given cookies for their troubles! ^-^ . . . Well, actually no. I ate them all. Sorry! But message anyway because it make you feel good!


	2. Sealing The Deal

{Hatake} .: Flawed Design :. {Kakashi} .: Part 1 :.

By: Halogirl3000

~Hokage's Office, Konoha~

"Welcome back to Konoha, Fujiwara Zakuro." Tsunade's voice drifted about the room, which was suddenly overwhelmed in a thick tension. The air pressed into the occupants of the room, threatening to suffocate them in its intensity. Each of the ninja felt it, and it began to grind against their nerves

Tsunade's bright brown eyes stared down the feline in contemplation. Questions swamped her mind, both personal, and professional. To be completely truthful, Tsunade was surprised to see that Zakuro had come at all. It was uncommon for the woman to comply to others wishes so easily.

"It's been a long time Tsunade-hime." Zakuro said, the grin apparent even on her cat-like face. She remain in place, looking around the room, assessing it like the pro she was, her midnight black tail flicking back and forth behind her.

"I see you managed to get pass the guards that I sent to look out for you." The statement was both an observation and question. And Zakuro knew exactly what Tsunade was asking.

A small chuckle resonated from the foreigner, cold and mocking in tone. The jounin that surrounded the room sent cold glares towards the figure who sat lazily on the floor. She did not even bother to be intimidated by the stares of the high-level ninja that surrounded her. To her, it was an unimportant fact. They were still to novice-like to be any threat to her. "I didn't kill anyone. They all are very much alive, and I'd be surprised to find if any of them knew I had slipped by at all."

Tsunade grunted in reply, reluctantly having to think that it was for the better. There was no telling what Zakuro would have done if challenged before she entered the Hokage's Tower. With a sigh, she acknowledged that it was time to get down to business, and pressed a button that would summon Shizune to the room.

The motion was not lost on Zakuro, who visibly tensed slightly. Precaution was a ninja's tool, and luck favored the prepared after all.

Within moments, the black haired woman walked into the room with a small knock. As an experienced ninja, she allowed for a quick sweep of the room, her highly trained eyes scanning the room, searching for anything that did not belong. With that in mind, her eyes were fixed on the black cat longer then anything else. The only thing that kept her from questioning was the glare that her teacher and friend had upon her face. So Shizune quelled her curiosity and waited for orders. Like a good little soldier.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Take everyone out of the room. I'll continue this on my own." Were Tsunade's brief instructions. The other ninjas all looked at their leader in surprise, obviously not trusting the cat that would remain alone with their superior. Even the cat looked somewhat perplexed, eyeing the large bosomed Sannin with skepticism and suspicion. The pause that all of the Konoha ninja displayed only served to annoy Tsunade further.

"Now!" The order was quick and fierce, and there wasn't a shinobi alive that would have dared disobey.

The retreat from the room went fast, and in no time at all, the Fifth Hokage was left alone in the room with the Fujiwara member.

"Hokage, eh? Out of everyone that I thought could replace Sarutobi, you weren't exactly high on that list." Zakuro stated, strangely feeling more at ease with just the blonde in the room.

Tsunade glared down at the cat, who didn't even have the graciousness to look ashamed. "Screw your list Zakuro. Jiraiya was the one who sold me out for it. You wanna complain, go find him."

"You don't sound so upset about it. Is it more fun then it looks? Is it the hat?" Zakuro responded, admittedly curious as to the reply Tsunade would have. After all, the Sannin wasn't exactly known for her love of paperwork, which was what a Hokage spent a great deal of their time doing.

Tsunade let out a very un-ladylike snort. "It's a pain in the ass. I have to wake up early, and stay up throughout the day. Deal with whinny little genin, and sometimes chunin as well. Kotetsu and Izumo need a constant vigilance or else something spontaneously combusts, and I think all of this has to do with my tab at the sake store running over budget." Zakuro chuckled slightly, finding both the rant and the woman saying it a riot of good fun. "And yes Zakuro, the hat is as wickedly awesome as Minato once thought."

"Then what's with the defensiveness of the title. Surely the hat isn't that grand that it makes everything else worth it?" Zakuro asked. The two were in dangerous territory, this friendly exchange in conversation was not following the expectations of both occupants, and would eventually lead to a rougher discussion, as soon as they got to the reasons they were both there to begin with.

Tsunade let out a wistful sigh, thinking over her answer. It would have to be a good one, or else there wasn't much hope that Zakuro would understand. The morals and ideals behind Tsunade's decision of becoming Hokage would seem pointless, if not expressed to their full capacity to the cat who waited patiently.

"Because protecting the village is the duty of the Hokage. Being Hokage means that everyone in the village is under my protection, and that I will die for them if I must. Kage's are the pillars of the Hidden Villages, and I will use all my strength to keep the village and the people in it safe. For the future of the village, I will help those who will become that future, those who will become the backbone of the village after I am good and dead. As Hokage, I'm entrusted with all the dreams and wishes of those below me. To protect those so that the Konoha ninja and villagers will be able to make dreams and hopes, is why I became Hokage." Tsunade's strong voice was backed with determination and will. Silence reigned in after her monologue, as both of the ninja became lost in thought.

"How sickenly noble of you." Zakuro replied after some moments, her tone light and condescending. Though Zakuro's words were harsh, and caused Tsunade to glare down at her slightly, there was no denying the small amount of respect that found its way hidden in between the words, even if she didn't agree with the reasoning.

More moments passed in a comfortable silence, as each woman though of how to stage the next discussion that was on its way. There was so much that needed to be said, on both parts, that neither knew how to continue into this confusing topic.

Zakuro decided to start. And she wouldn't be Zakuro if she wasn't sarcastic to the point annoyance.

"As _honored _as I am to gain the privilege of an audience with you Tsunade-hime, I can't help but wonder why. Your letter wasn't all that specific." Zakuro's clipped tone stated, bringing both herself and Tsunade into the realization that the small talk was over. And that now they both had to play their roles, and be adults.

"Oh, you sound angry at me," Tsunade replied. She easily slipped into her Hokage persona, bringing forward the snide and serious characteristics of her personality. "But if I told you my reasoning of you coming here, you would have high-tailed-it out of that cramped little village and made off for some place that's even harder to reach, and I couldn't have that."

Zakuro listened quietly as the Konoha leader spoke, her composure as well defined as an ice block. Her mind whirled, absorbing the information with speed and logic that rivaled the genius level. A few things stuck out from Tsunade's mannerism, and speech. For one, she was staling. Something Tsunade didn't often do, having the straight to the point type of personality that didn't leave room for a long-winded lecture. Second, she was still slightly sarcastic, and cocky. It could have been an after effect of the sake that was pretty much drained from her cup and bottle, but if Tsunade was dead serious, she wouldn't be trying to ease things over with her sardonic wit.

'_Well, the sake did smell pretty strong. Maybe she oversaw her limits . . .?'_Even as she thought this, Zakuro reasoned it to be improbable. _'Although Tsunade may sometimes act like a blonde idiot, she's anything but. She wouldn't allow sake of all things to make a fool out of her. She's up to something.' _Zakuro allowed her senses to discreetly run a check of her surroundings. Just to make sure that Tsunade wasn't trying to pull anything.

"And what, exactly, would make me have to 'high-tail-it' out of that village?" Zakuro questioned, quickly seeing a weakness in Tsunade's words.

Tsunade let out a small sigh, realizing that there was no way to get around it. Zakuro was as quick as she had always been, one of the young prodigies of the village, she had once been. '_And every single one of them is a pain in the ass!'_

"Alright. Fine. You win." Tsunade said, giving up the act, and reaching forward for her sake cup. Throwing her head back, she let the strong beverage work its way down her throat, grimacing at the slight burn it left behind in her mouth. She felt it work quickly, warming her stomach and body in its familiar touch. "The fact of the matter is that I called you back for one reason."

Tsunade paused slightly, looking at the golden eyes that stared her back with closed curiosity. She realized what she was doing to Zakuro, and she didn't like it at all. The request, no, _order_, that Tsunade was about to issue was a blow to more than one person. It would affect a larger number of people then she wanted to admit. And asking what she was about to ask would mean putting them through the ringer. And it was going to be painful.

'_This is the Hokage's job.' _Tsunade defended in her head. _'I'm not going to like everything I'm going to do. But someone has to do it. And it's about time that Zakuro's file was closed, and people got on with their lives.' _With a quick breath, Tsunade blurted out the words she desperately wished she didn't have to say.

"Fujiwara Zakuro, you've been issued back into Konoha ranks. You are now considered a shinobi of Konoha once again."

The weight of the words was monumental.

Zakuro looked up at Tsunade, waiting for her to jump on the table and declare herself as an alcoholic. Then expecting Jiraiya to jump from the closet(which didn't exist in the room, but Zakuro could dream) and start blabbing about becoming a holy monk. Because those things made about as much sense as what Tsunade had just said. Which was none.

When neither of those things did happen, Zakuro started to feel panic rise in her. Which was preposterous, because out of all the things Zakuro did, panic wasn't one of them. She felt frozen, as if she was caught in a Nara shadow possession and a Yamanaka mind squeeze at the same time.

It didn't make any sense. Tsunade couldn't do this. She couldn't! And there was no reason to either. Why trust a missing-nin, one who abandoned the village without looking back? Even if she and Tsunade had history, a beat, a pretty friendly one, Tsunade couldn't have deranged herself enough to think this was a good idea. And history be damned! It didn't mean anything to a shinobi, anyway. Personal feelings were so often disregarded it was like they didn't have any!

"There's no way the council would allow this." Zakuro said, her voice sounding so meek and withdrawn to her ears, it caused her to wince. At least, if all else, she could play the council card. Many of the members despised her. There was no way that they would agree to allow her back. Alive, anyway. She had feuded with them often enough. Even went as far as threatening them when she could. And it wasn't a secret either! Everyone, and I mean everyone, who knew her when she was still a Konoha ninja knew the mutual hatred that they shared. It was like poetry. Gory and bloody Edgar Allen Poe, poetry, but poetry none the less!

Tsunade had to smirk at that one. Finding surprise in the fact that Zakuro had enough sense to bring that up. She could remember the battles(non violent, . . . most of the time) that the council and Zakuro had had. They were legendary! It was tough work to bring Zakuro down verbally, and even harder if you wanted to fight with her physically. Very few had ever managed to best her, and the council almost never had. Tsunade could only remember very few, and scattered times when Zakuro had allowed the council's elders to order her around. And it's not like Zakuro didn't believe in revenge, because she did. And most of the elders felt it hard.

"They don't have the power to stop me. With political area's their influence may overshadow mine, but when dealing with ninja and the militaristic aspects of Konoha I have full reign to do what I think will help the village. And I do think that your presence will help out." Tsunade added, seeing Zakuro's eyes flicker in resistance. Sensing another attempt at escape, Tsunade decided to end this then. She didn't have the patience to deal with an emotional and angry Zakuro. God knows it would only make her headache worse.

"Zakuro, let me make this as clear as possible. I don't care if you don't want to do it. I don't care if you have a thousand and one reasons for why you shouldn't come back. I don't care if other people have a thousand and one reasons for why you shouldn't become a Konoha shinobi again. This is what I, as Hokage, order. And resistance or defiance about my decision will not be tolerated. You _will_become a shinobi under Konoha again. And I can promise you that if you take off again, the consequences will be not be as easy to get away from as the last time." Tsunade stared down at Zakuro, her brown eagle-like eyes stern and rigid. She would not accept anything less then total agreement from the cat, and wouldn't make the mistake of pity, which Zakuro didn't want or need.

Zakuroglared back, not quite willing to give up her freedom so easily. In an unconscious motion she got to her four patted feet, and started pacing in front of the blonde woman who sat back and watched.

Zakuro couldn't understand it. Why was Tsunade being such an idiot? Zakuro couldn't be trusted, it was as simple as that. She abandoned the village, its inhabitants and anything that was left behind. Took off, without warning to anyone, except one small meeting with Sarutobi to explain the barest of facts. Which went along the lines of 'I'm leaving', and 'good-bye.' Hell! She even left behind her Konoha Hitai-ate for him to slash and destroy before taking off before he could get a word in.

"I don't understand," Zakuro said in between steps. "Why? I can't be trusted enough to take on missions. I abandoned the village, left it to rot while I went off on my own! So why, instead of telling me I'm on a wanted list, are you saying that I don't even have the choice of disagreeing with _coming back_?" Zakuro shouted, turning her furious eyes to Tsunade, looking surprisingly frail and insecure while doing it. Two things Tsunade was not accustomed to viewing Zakuro as.

Tsunade felt her mouth dry up. She didn't necessarily have an answer when Zakuro worded it like that. Why was Tsunade allowing her to return? Tsunade knew she couldn't say, _because Orochimaru is being an ass, as usual, and I need strong people to defend Konoha! And in that regards there's not a whole lot of people stronger then you? _That wouldn't do anything except perhaps anger Zakuro more. Tsunade needed a solid reason to hook Zakuro in. Even if it was the dumbest reason in the world. It just had to be solid!

"Because as Sarutobi's successor, I'm in charge of all of Konoha's affairs. And even though he felt that you were only a C-Ranked threat to the village, I feel like that is enough to be worried about," Tsunade didn't mention that Sarutobi only limited her file as C-Ranked because he felt that anyone who knew her would know she wouldn't bother coming back to be enough of a problem to worry about. In truth, her threat level should have been _much_higher. "So instead of wasting man power and lives with trying to kill you off, I'm taking another approach. As a Konoha ninja not only will you be under my supervision, you will also be surrounded by shinobi who can look out for you, and inform me of any problems." Tsunade felt proud of herself for the quick thinking. It seemed sound to her, logical, and not a completely insane idea either. All in all, it was a good excuse-, I mean explanation!

Zakuro allowed her mind to waltz over the problem at hand. Tsunade's near miss was enough to support the idea that Zakuro was getting somewhere. She just didn't know where that was. This whole idea of coming back to the village was preposterous! It wasn't what she had expected to hear when she came to Tsunade at all. And it really threw her off. She expected so much more hostility from the Hokage, which wasn't the case at all. Tsunade had been more than gracious. They had even talked as friends for some time there! And the part that Zakuro hated to admit the most was that she had enjoyed it. She found that talking to Tsunade had been pleasant. Weakly, she wondered if it would be the same talking to the others she left behind.

'_Pfh! Yeah right. Tsunade took off before I did, she wasn't even in the Fire Country when I left. Obviously she's taking this a lot easier then any of the others would. After all, she left too. But the others wouldn't be as forgiving. Jiraiya did tell me about their reactions after I left. None of them were happy with me. Coming back, would only lead to pain.'_Zakuro reasoned with herself. She couldn't allow the fantasy of old times to blind her of the present predicament. Things couldn't return back to the way they were. And even if they could, Zakuro wouldn't want them like that anyways.

"Tsunade, you do understand that I feel no guilt or regret over my decision to leave the village." Zakuro said, trying one last time to get Tsunade to understand why she was so hesitant to return.

The comment confused Tsunade. There was no denying that what Zakuro did was no less then betrayal, on many levels. Usually, there was at least a small pang of regret to those types of actions. Tsunade even felt a little bit of it over her own departure from the village.

Zakuro ignored the obvious unrest that appeared on Tsunade's face as she continued on, explaining the never before disclosed reasoning's of her actions. "I really don't feel bad over what I did. Leaving my friends behind, and taking off. It was in my best interest at the time, and I don't care who it hurt. I knew exactly what I was doing, what the consequences where going to be, and I knew it was going to hurt people, and I never cared. I couldn't bring myself to." Zakuro's gold eyes sought out Tsunade's, and they looked at her with a steely quality that Tsunade had seen many time. Mostly on cold blooded assassins.

"I just thought that before you reinstate me, you should know that."

Tsunade had to hand it to the girl, she certainly knew how to make people squirm. Which admittedly was why she was such a success on the battlefield during the Shinobi Wars. Zakuro's speech really caused Tsunade to rethink her decision. Could she, as Hokage, bring both Zakuro, and many of the elite Konoha shinobi into this sort of battle? A battle of emotions, which it was common knowledge, was a ninja's weakest point.

Yes, she could.

"That is between you and those who felt the most betrayed after you left. It has nothing to do with my decision to bring you back. As of now, you are a Konoha shinobi, rank elite Jonin." Tsunade said, making sure with care that her voice was as determined as it could be.

Zakuro let out a sigh of disappointment. She really couldn't believe that after all of this, Tsunade was still so sure of herself. And the weight that those words brought upon Zakuro, left a boulder in her stomach. She really didn't know what to do next, never having any thought about returning to the village. She felt surprisingly lost, and it discouraged her, greatly.

"Very well _Hokage-sama_." Zakuro couldn't help but jib. "In respects to you decision, I have a few conditions to add." Zakuro wouldn't be thrown into this situation without some sort of cushion to help support herself with. She quickly realized that in order to deal with this, certain circumstances must be in her control.

Tsunade felt her curiosity peak. "Oh, what type of conditions?"

"Firstly, I want my old apartment. That shouldn't be too difficult. I left a pre-paid amount of money that should have kept it and all of my possessions in it safe from anyone else." Zakuro said, feeling slightly calmer, now that she was listing off the requirements of her remission.

Tsunade felt a smirk pull at her lips. Leave it to Zakuro to make sure that when she was gone, her things wouldn't be taken by thieving selves. "Granted, next condition." The first condition was easy to grant. No one had been able to surpass Zakuro's left advancements anyway, so everything was still in her name.

Zakuro grinned in reply. "Secondly, I want one week before it gets out that I'm back." Zakuro took great satisfaction from the confused expression on Tsunade's face.

"And what would be the point of that?" Tsunade couldn't help but ask. It was an odd request, as it wouldn't really matter when people knew of her return, whether it be tomorrow or in a week.

"I need some time to scope things out, as well as get accustomed to Konoha again." Zakuro replied, being only half truthful. The real reason was that she wanted to gauge where everyone was. It would be useful to known how her old friends were, and what they were up to in life without them realizing that she was back.

Tsunade nodded, assuring Zakuro that it would be granted. "You have one week, before I announce that you've returned. However, there will be a few ANBU who know of your return," Tsunade couldn't help but grin. "Just to make sure that your not doing something that would get you in trouble. But they'll be sworn to secrecy."

Zakuro nodded in appreciation. "And last, the third condition is," Zakuro paused, unsure of how to proceed. This last condition would be the deal breaker. If Tsunade was unable to grant it, Zakuro would not be hanging around. And ANBU Black Ops would have a rough night trying to find her. "I want to retain my ability to chose."

Tsunade cursed herself for not anticipating this earlier. It should have been obvious. The very reason Zakuro had left in the first place had been completely overlooked when she had been planning Zakuro's return. Tsunade realized that this was the main condition, over passing each of the others in importance, and she couldn't help but want to grant it. But she was Hokage, and what Zakuro was asking was contradicting to the idea of a shinobi who followed orders as instructed.

"To some extent." It was all Tsunade could honestly grant, and it would have to be enough.

Zakuro paused in consideration. It was a great deal more then she expected, just not exactly all she wanted. Tsunade had given up a great deal of power over Zakuro, and while it was more then Zakuro could have hoped for anywhere else, it just didn't feel the same as when it was just Zakuro. Making her own path and laws that she had to follow, after giving up the ones she had grown up with.

"Alright. Thank you, Hokage-sama." Zakuro bowed slightly, finally respecting Tsunade as Sandaime's successor. "I'll be leaving now. No doubt the apartment is in shambles, and I have a lot of work to do." Zakuro said, as she waltzed over towards the window she entered through. Tsunade nodded as she watched her newest ninja leap from the room, without another word.

'_One week, eh. That's all the time before this place goes up in flames.' _Tsunade felt her hand close around her sake cup, and lifted it to her lips. _'I wonder how it will play out. Will you be so uncaring once you face those you feel you betrayed, Zakuro?' _Tsunade didn't know the answer, but she looked forward to the chaos that would hold it.

"Shizune! I need more sake!!"

~*~

~The Streets of Konoha Village~

The empty streets were incredibly welcoming to Zakuro, who walked leisurely on top of the buildings. She made her way north of the village, up to the ritzy-ditzy, fancy side of the village, where her forgotten apartment lay in wait.

She felt surprisingly free of weight as she walked across these familiar buildings, while simultaneously remembering incidences from each one of them. There were many stories and memories she had gained from her years in the village. She had thought that coming back would be painful, and full of during hardships she would be unable to endure. But she was happily surprised.

In the midnight hour, with no hauntingly familiar faces and voices for her to face, it was extremely peaceful. To relive all these feelings and images was a gift she had never thought she would appreciate this much.

'_It won't always be this easy. Come morning, all those familiar faces will be about, and you have one week to decide how your going to face them.' _Zakuro let this thought run across her head, ruining the quiet tranquility of the night.

Zakuro let the moon shine down on her, stopping for a moment to calm herself. The wind bristled past her, continuing on with the game of tag it shared with the leaves that followed its streams. It was still a chilly night, cold and unforgiving to those who were caught in it. And Zakuro found it strangely ironic, that the night, so lonely and frigid, was reflecting the feelings of her heart.

'_One week, Zakuro. Don't waste it.'_ And with that thought, the small little black cat disappeared from sight.

_~*~_

**Ramblings of an Author:**

Well, the first official part is over with. This one was a bit longer then the first, as is expected for the first real chapter of the story. Unfortunately, Kakashi didn't make an appearance in this part, and he won't for one more. I was basically trying to get across Zakuro's feelings towards the village in this part, and I hope that I succeeded. The same with Tsunade, who I really like to write for. She's surprisingly difficult to write out though, as I've come to realize. It's hard to get her feelings down, as she usually hides them fairly well. There's also that unpredictability that she has as well, which is why I like to include her thoughts in the story as well. It's a challenge, one I hope that I overcame in this part.

Well, that's all for this part, and I hope that you liked it enough to leave a comment! Good or bad, I'm not too picky!


	3. Prove It

{Hatake} .: Flawed Design :. {Kakashi} .: Part 2 :.

By: Halogirl3000

~Konoha Village~

"But it wasn't my fault. I swear Sakura!" A voice rang through the air outside the Ichiraku Ramen bar. Not long after a large 'slap' was heard with a cringe from many. A bright blonde haired boy lay on his side, thrown from his chair with a red handprint on the side of his face. He wore an orange jumpsuit, very uncommon with his line of work. Bright blue eyes shown under his tear work's as he looked up at his assailant. This was Uzumaki Naruto

Standing over him was a young girl. A pink, sleeve-less Chinese style dress was worn over shorts that covered her exposed legs, as the side of the dress was slitted over the thighs. Her headband was placed behind her bangs, holding back her clump of short, pink hair. Haruno Sakura held little mercy in her light, green eyes as she glared down at her blonde teammate

"Naruto, you idiot. Quit bothering Sasuke-kun!" Sakura warned, referring to the other member of team 7 who sat not six feet away.

The third member of team 7 sat at the ramen bar, sitting calming trying to ignore his teammates as they continued their banter. He had dark black/dark bluish hair, the bangs falling to the side of his face, ending at his chin. His dark onyx eyes were set in the never-ending glare as he stared down his teammates. His wore his blue t-shirt with the white shorts that had his shuriken holder wrapped around his right leg. The Uchiha prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Idiots." He muttered darkly as he turned away from viewing Sakura and Naruto. Sakura's head fell slightly as her 'inner-self' yelled out profanities towards Naruto, once again blaming him for Sasuke's cold attitude towards her.

"What was that Sasuke-teme?! Ggggrrr! How come you always act like your so cool?! Your such a pain in the ass!" Naruto yelled out as he jumped to his feet, throwing an accusing finger towards the Uchiha. A growl was heard from the side, as Naruto found himself thrown to the ground for the second time in just as many minutes.

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura yelled. To the side Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh. Quickly, he stood up from his perch, then turned to walk towards the road. Sakura's attention diverted itself from the whimpering blonde, to her retreating crush.

"Where are you going Sasuke-kun?" There was no denying the hopeful tone in her voice. Sakura wanted to be invited along.

"Kakashi-sensei won't be here for awhile. I have much better uses of my time then watching you idiots fight." Came the curt reply, causing Sakura to bow her head in defeat, and walk off in the other direction.

"Wait Sakura, where you going?! Why don't we go do something?!" Naruto cried out looking after the young kunochi, who only gave a loud laugh and disappeared behind a corner.

Naruto let a out a sigh as he turned back around, fully prepared to go back into the ramen shop and gorge himself within an inch of his life. The team had no missions today, at least not until Kakashi decided to show up, and who knows when that would be. And perhaps Naruto's day would be uneventful, if not for what happened next, but really, why would the author make things easy for him?

As Naruto was too busy contemplating what type of ramen he would order, he did not see the person in front of him, now normally this wouldn't be a problem, seeing as this person would move out of the way, but unfortunately she also couldn't see, the blame for this collision clearly goes to the bags of groceries that the woman was carrying.

"Umpf." Naruto said as he fell to the ground after hitting the woman. He heard many things fall to the ground around him, as the woman let out a small curse. Naruto scrambled to his feet, and looked around him. Brown bags littered the small area around the two of them, different foods and items falling from the open tops onto the street. "I'm sorry." Naruto said as he looked up towards the woman for the first time, and gasped.

Naruto had never seen anyone like her before. Her skin was deeply tanned, darker then anyone he knew, even Iruka-sensei. Long, purple hair fell down her back, pulled up to her head with a thick scrunchy that supported the weight. Her bangs were pushed to frame her face, layering themselves as they traveled downward, ending at her chin. Some of the bangs curled themselves outward on each side of her face. She wore black pants, that tightly clung to her strong legs. Cream colored leggings wrapped around her shins, strapping themselves below a pair of dark brown flats. An orange kimono type top covered her chest, ending at the waist, where it tightly encircled her stomach. The top remained sleeveless after the shoulder, where two white bars were wrapped around the shoulders on each side, etched into the fabric. A black turtle neck could be seen in the space between the wraps of the orange top. Her right arm was covered in a black glove, that extended up to the forearm, the other, remained bare except for the small black band that wrapped around the left forearm as well. But perhaps the most intriguing feature were her eyes. Molten gold started down at him, shining under thin eyebrows, that were raised in question to his sudden silence. They were incredibly deep, and shined with the humor she didn't allow to cross her face.

"Oh, sorry lady." Naruto said as he got over his initial shock, and turned towards his haven, Ichiraku. He grinned as he could already taste the beef ramen he was soon to have, or at east that was the plan. A tug on the back of his collar stopped him in his tracks. He glanced over his shoulder, only to be met with the same gold eyes that had belonged to the woman he ran into.

"Where do you think your going kid?" She said with a small smirk. Her voice was both coy and light, that held a smirk even if her lips doing the movement. It was strong, and had clearly seen many years of successful sarcasm that held many opponents at bay. Her smirk came to a large grin as her eyes closed over with it. "Surely your not going to leave me to clean up this mess myself right? I mean it's partly your fault too." She said in a teasing manner.

Naruto glowered at her for a second, as if looking to see if she was serious. She was. "Are you kidding lady. I'm not going to clean up all this stuff." He yelled, outraged at the very idea, I mean he was missing his ramen time right now. The woman let out a sigh and mumbled a few things under her breath. Her face slipped into one of annoyance as she looked at the yellow-headed boy in front of her. "Listen kid, I'm not cleaning all this stuff up myself, so you can either help me, or suffer the consequences." She stated as she looked at him with steely gold eyes. Naruto had to admit, if he wasn't so stubborn, he may have been scared enough to do what she wanted, but that is never the case with Naruto.

"Like you could hurt me lady, I'm a ninja, one you don't want to mess with!" Naruto said, a grin coming onto his face at the mention of being a ninja. As if implying this, he pointed his thumb at his Konoha hitai-ate that clung to his forehead. The woman looked at him unfazed, the let out another sigh. Her left hand lifted behind her head, as she rubbed her neck lightly.

"Alright how about this, if you help me, I'll buy you ramen." The woman questioned, hoping the boy would take the offer. She was much to lazy to clean up the bags by herself, and she very well couldn't leave them there, that would get her in trouble, and as fun as that sounded, she really couldn't afford it at the moment.

Naruto looked at the woman with a blank expression, but not a second later his eyes turned into stars as he jumped into action. Best not keep the ramen waiting.

The woman looked at the boy with wide eyes. He was running around her, looking like one long, orange streak. The bags that were scattered on the ground disappeared one by one, and not long after, Naruto appeared in front of the woman, with one of the widest grins ever to be seen by human eyes.

"Lets go lady, I want some ramen now!!!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed the woman's hand, and pulled her towards Ichiraku. The woman followed blindly, still wondering at how fast the boy was at cleaning up, and all for ramen? The woman shook her in disbelief.

"Yo, old man, get me some ramen, I'm starving!!" Naruto called to Teuchi behind the counter(and yes, that's the ramen mans real name). Naruto sat down at one of the stools and pulled the woman into the one next to him. She sat down diligently. A bowl of ramen was quickly placed in front of Naruto and his companion.

"Here you go Naruto," Teuchi said as he smiled at the boy. Naruto quickly grabbed two chopsticks and broke them apart, then happily started to slurp his beloved ramen. Teuchi turned to the woman next to him, giving her a smile as well. "You might want to re-think treating him, he'll eat your wallet dry." He said with humor, though completely serious.

The woman responded back with a grin. "I'm starting to see that," She responded with a glance towards the boy. "But thanks for the warning." Teuchi nodded, then turned back to his work area, and started preparing other meals.

The woman turned back towards the boy, and watched him finish off his ramen. He looked down at his empty bowl in disappointment, before turning to her untouched steaming bowl. He glanced up at her face, and repeated looking between the two. She let out a sigh as she used the back of her hand to push the bowl towards him, "Knock yourself out, kid."

Naruto grinned in victory as he greedily took the bowl away from her. Though surprisingly taking his time in eating it. He probably learned to save it for as long as he could.

"So what's your name kid?"

Naruto turned towards the woman who looked back at him with questioning eyes. She had changed her position from sitting facing forward, to leaning on the counter, her gloved right hand holding up her chin as her body was slightly turned towards him. Naruto quickly slurped up the rest of the ramen that he had grabbed with his chopsticks, and looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I want your name, the word you are commonly referred to as, unless you like being called kid, cause that fine with me." She said raising an eyebrow at the boy.

Naruto let out another grin, he'd been doing that a lot lately. "Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage!!" He said with his usual enthusiasm as he always placed in that phrase. The woman looked at him with a questioning expression.

"Hokage?" She questioned. Naruto nodded his head vigorously. "As in the best ninja Konoha has, Hokage?" Again Naruto nodded, his grin slowly slipping from his face, he knew where this conversation was going.

"I doubt you could." She said as she turned her body around to look at the front of the ramen bar.

Naruto glowered at her. Sure he was used to this reaction, but he hated it every time. "Why not?" He asked, his grip on his chopsticks tightening as his hand shook.

"The Hokage is the best in the village, right?" She continued as he confirmed with a nod of the head. "I'm just not sure if a kid like you could become as great as is needed to become the Hokage." She said in a bored tone.

Naruto listened intently, looking down at the bowl of ramen that seemed to hold no appeal at the moment. Again, and again the same thing happened, no one believed him, well he'd show her."I will become Hokage." He whispered to himself. The woman slightly turned her head to look at him. "I'll show you, I'll show you all that I can become Hokage." He said again in the same determined tone he had used the first time, only his voice rose in resolve. He turned to look at the woman with a firm gaze.

At first he saw the same eyes that he saw outside, the gold ones that were playful and humorous, as she looked at him with a slightly confused face, one that was brought on by his strong words and eyes. But soon that changed. Her eyes become one's that held no laughter in their depths, and they surely did not have the time for games. They became eyes that held no pity, and had seen terrible things that no ones should have had to see. They were ones that had faced challenges of many scales and occasions and survived each of them. They became the eyes of a warrior.

But Naruto didn't care, this woman was challenging his belief, his dream. He would die for his dream.

Slowly, her gaze melted, back into the previous one, and her face broke into a small smile. "Excuse me sir," She said to Teuchi, "Can you get me a couple more bowls of ramen, I think Naruto is still hungry."

Naruto blinked up at her, she smiled back as if nothing had happened, and turned back around to look at the people coming in for the lunch rush.

Naruto's face broke into a grin, as he happily returned to finish off his ramen. Teuchi came and delivered two new batches of ramen to him, and Naruto ate them quickly, finding that merely defying the woman's look was enough to make him hungry as if he'd just trained for hours strait.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, Naruto eating and the woman looking at the hungry customers. Soon Naruto had finished his meal, and his stomach was big from eating to much. The woman turned back around and laughed at Naruto as he sat there with his chin on the counter, a look of defeat and pain on his face.

"It's not funny!!!" He cried out, then thought against it as his stomach protested against it. "I'm in serious pain here!!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have eaten so much, hmm." The woman said in a teasing manner, as she pressed her pointer finger into the Konoha symbol on his headband, pushing Naruto's head back playfully. He responded with a glare, and she was forced to laugh some more. The two were left again in silence, but it didn't last long as Naruto interrupted it with a question.

"Hey," Naruto said as he looked at the woman with a side glance, "What you said about the Hokage, do you believe me now? Do you believe I can do it?" The woman looked at him again her face blank, but not unpleasant so.

"Not really." She said shortly. Naruto's gaze lifted itself from her, obviously disappointed. He had been hoping, that maybe just this once someone could have said out loud that he could do it. It would've been nice. Just this once.

"So we'll just have to fix that wont we?"

Naruto looked at her again, this time lifting his chin from the counter and turning his body towards her. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

"Prove it to me." She said with a challenging expression. "Prove to me that you have what it takes to become Hokage. That your strong enough to surpass everyone around you."

Naruto looked at her for a second, then broke into a grin and jumped at her. The two fell to the ground with a short yell on the woman's part. Naruto started laughing as he hugged her around her waist. The woman was not nearly so kind about this sudden intrusion of personal space. She looked down at him and gripped his shoulders, trying to pry him off of her.

"I'm not going to give you a chance if you keep this up!" She yelled out, totally oblivious to the stares the two were getting from the other customers.

Naruto let go of her, but did not rise from the ground. He continued to sit on her, ignoring the darkened look in her eyes as he continued to do so. His grin was wider then she had seen it yet.

"I'll prove it to you." Naruto said as he looked her in the eyes, determined all over again.

The woman looked back with a grin. "Alright then." She said as she stood up, not caring that Naruto painfully plopped down upon the floor because of it, and grabbed some money, from god knows where, then set it on the counter. She then turned back towards Naruto and grabbed his hand, and set some money in there too. "For supper." She said with a wink, and started to walk out.

"Wait!!" Naruto called after her, she stopped midstep and looked back curiously. "When am I going to prove it to you?"

The woman turned around, placing her hand under her chin in thought. "That's a good question," She said as she stopped with a pause. A few moments later, she broke her concentration, and snapped her fingers in success. "How about we meet up again here tomorrow, same time." She said looking at Naruto for any sign of disapproval. Naruto gave none.

"Okay then, so tomorrow you prove to me that you can become Hokage." She said with a smile in his direction.

"Tomorrow. What if it takes longer then that?" Naruto questioned. For some reason he wanted to prove that he could become Hokage badly to this cocky woman.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to meet up everyday till you do." She said with a grin, as she turned around again, fully prepared to leave the discussion at that.

"Wait!!" Naruto called for a second time. The woman stopped gain and turned around, her face a little more annoyed then last time.

"What do you want!! I have things I have to do today!!!" The irritation was easily detectable in her tone. This woman obviously had a short fuse.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked looking at her. Her annoyed expression slipped away as she blinked at him in confusion. After a moment or two, she grinned at her own stupidity as she realized something.

"I haven't told you have I." She asked out as she laughed at herself. Naruto fell to the ground with a sigh, any respect that he had for the woman crushed to tiny pieces.

"No, you haven't!!" He yelled out with rage as he jumped back to his feet, pointing a finger in her direction.

"Oh well, I'm called Zakuro." She said, pointing up to her grinning face, which had an uncharacteristically childish grin on it. With that, she turned back around and slipped under the tarps that closed off the ramen stand from the crowded street, and disappeared from sight.

Naruto looked after her. "Zakuro," He whispered for a second, then his allowed another annoyed expression to cross his face. "What's her last name then?!" He yelled out frustrated. But his frustration only lasted a few seconds as he heard a clock ring out in the distance(I'm really not even sure that Konoha has a clock tower. Just roll with me people!).

"Oh no, I'm going to be late for training!!!" He yelled as he ran out the door.

On one of the rooftops, not too far off, the same purple haired woman was crouched low, making sure not to be heard or seen by anyone. "So, who should I check up on first. There is quite the list." She made note to herself as she looked over said list of old friends to spy on, that she drew up last night. "There's always Gai, I do love the big idiot for some unexplainable reason. Or Anko, or Iruka. Asuma is probably buying cigarettes somewhere. He wouldn't be to difficult to hide from. He always was kind of poor at chakra sensing."

Finding that deciding was going to be somewhat of a problem, Zakuro improvised. "Okay! Drastic times call for drastic measures!! Inky, binkie, bonky, daddy had a donkey,-" Quickly running through the nursery rhythm, Zakuro found her victim at the songs end.

"Alright. Anko it is!"

~*~

**Ramblings of an Author: **

Well, that's the second part, at least we got in a few main characters this time. Just not the one you want. But he's coming up next! Actually, . . . a lot of other character's enter the next part, all at the same time. Wow, I'm amazed at my amazingness!! Having the guts to enter a bunch of jonin psychos in one part and hoping that I can get their characters down! . . . I am so screwed!!!

But besides that, I'm hoping that I didn't mess up Sasuke too much. I realize that he wasn't in the story long for this part, but I'm hoping he didn't call Naruto an idiot one too many times for it to be in-character. But really, when you think of it, he calls Naruto an idiot with almost every comment(regardless of how rarely they come) he makes towards Naruto. The only nice ones are spoken in his head, where no one but us can hear them.

Sasuke's character was really my only concern with this chapter, and I'm very happy with how Zakuro has displayed herself in this part. You get a really good accoint of her personality in this part. A quick note, I have a link for a picture of Zakuro on my home page. It'll be under the **Flawed Design **space, so it shouln't be too difficult to find. And yes, any Bleach fans will realize that I have stolen Yoruichi's looks for Zakuro. . . . Actually, I have plans to steal a great bunch more from her, hopefully Tite won't mind!

Remember, Message!!! I'm getting a little depressed about having no one to talk to, or rave at!! Jk, I'll be nice to any messagers!!


	4. The Revisiting of Old Ties

{Hatake} .: Flawed Design :. {Kakashi} .: Part 3 :.

By: Halogirl3000

~Konoha Village~

"Anko! Slow down." A shout rang through the market air. It was a desperate cry for help, from which, none was offered. It wasn't worth it. The consequences were too great should they fail, and incur the demon's wrath. Iruka would just have to suffer alone.

"No way Iruka! This'll be fun!" Came the reply, as the purple haired fiend continued to drag the poor, defenseless chunin away from where he wished to be. Anko had kidnapped him not a half an hour earlier, ranting about his needing a life, and something that involved glue. Don't question it, it was better off not knowing.

The two unlikely pair were joined at the hip. Or that might have been what Anko had intended if bodies were able to merge like clay. Iruka felt the pain of his arm being ripped off as Anko continued to pull it after her. It was really starting to hurt, and had Iruka not had the stubborn-ness of an elephant, he might have crumbled by now. But no, Iruka was strong and would endure the pain. But really, who knew she was so strong, jonin rank or not!

"But Anko," Many would say that the brown skinned man was whining, to which he would thoroughly deny it if confronted. "I have a lot of paper work to I need to catch up on."

Anko scoffed in the face of her companions despair. "You spend to much time on paperwork! You need to get out more Iruka. Life is passing you by, while you sit and grade papers for your little devils!" Her defense was a solid one, genin-in-training were hell. But Iruka refrained from saying so, choosing to be delusional, and say they were little angels. What a riot!

"Anko, the pre-genin are just eager to learn. They are not 'little devils', as all of you Jonin chose to call them." Iruka was defiant. His tone as stern, and stated that he would not tolerate the attacks on his students. He had always been funny like that.

Anko let out a very un-lady like snort. "Yeah right Iruka. I've had to baby-sit those things when you chunin's get sick. They tried to assassinate me! A group of them sent kunai's at me at recess! Total disrespect from them, I tell ya. I once made babies like those cry with just one look!" Anko continued telling her traumatizing experience. Many of the other jonin's had similar experiences. Apparently, Academy students love to almost kill people. Particularly, people they have no right to kill.

This peaked Iruka's attention, and the memory of a legal charge against Anko that he had come across in his 'paperwork'. "If I recall correctly, as punishment for trying to 'assassinate' you, all of those students got hung out the window. On the fifth story!"

Anko laughed at the memory. "They all learned the right knot for a hanging rope though! At least they got something out of it. All I got was a lecture from the Hokage, and a few restraining orders." Iruka shook his head at her, unable to find a part of him that wanted to reprimand her for her actions. It wouldn't do any good anyway. Anko was Anko, crazy, psychotic, ninja-ness and all.

"Anyway," She continued, as though the subject of her tormenting children was unimportant, and truth be, to everyone but Iruka, it was. "A few of us are getting together tomorrow for lunch. So it's up to us to rally the troops and find them all! Doesn't that sound fun?"

Iruka let an exhausted sigh escape his control. Great, he got to spend all day rounding up the usual group of questionably sane ninja to go have a cup of tea with later. Just superb! _'I'm going to die. And somehow it will be all their fault.'_ But he did not voice this opinion, opting to hold his tongue, and maybe live a few more minutes.

"Hey! Anko, Iruka!." A cry from behind them called their attention. With one lazy turn of the head, both Anko and Iruka spotted two of their fellow ninja's making their way over towards them.

"Asuma! Kurenai!" Anko said, sending a cheerful grin over at them. Within a few moments the four Konoha shinobi met in the middle of the street.

"What are you guys doing out? Don't you have love-able genin to teach?" Anko asked, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of the kids she had met during the ChuninExams. All that young, luscious blood. It gave her shivers!

Asuma and Kurenai sent each other hardly noticeable, worried glances.

"Yeah. Right. My teams getting together later to train. I took the morning off for a small vacation." Asuma stated,, blowing out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. It wafted and waned in the air, until it dispersed from sight. The smell however, remained.

"Come on Asuma," Iruka complained lightly, waving a hand in front of his face to get rid of the smell. "You know I don't like the smoke that thing gives off."

Asumagrinned at his favorite chunin's foolishness. "And I thought I told you, it builds character." He pointedly ignored the muttered '_and black lungs_!' that Iruka whispered to himself, and looked over to the two female accomplices who were having their own conversation.

"So what about you Kurenai, taking a mini-vacation as well?" Ankoasked, ready to dive in for the kill and try to corner Kurenai. At least verbally.

Kurenai let out a disappointed sigh, and pushed back the clump of long brown hair that had fallen over her shoulder. "I wish. Tsunade-hime called me this morning to informed me that I'll be looking though some reports for her today. Apparently, there's one in particular she's looking for. And since she claims she's allergic to paperwork, I have to find it for her."

"That bites." Anko said, being uncharacteristically sympathetic. She didn't like paperwork much either. And doing it while you superior, the one who wanted the paper to begin with, was sleeping on the job in the next room was really discouraging. Kurenai nodded, appreciating the empathy.

"Now now," Asuma felt the need to intervene. "It won't be that bad. It's just one file right?" He said, hoping to raise Kurenai's spirits. Iruka looked on from the side, nodding in agreement. Having the most experience in the field of paperwork, he didn't quite understand the problem to begin with. All jonins were alike in his opinion. Lazy.

"It's from six years ago." Kurenai deadpanned. Her three companions winced, even Iruka. Files from more then a year ago were killer to find. Since every mission, the thousands that could happen within a year, was recorded and placed in a special room and categorized upon their time, and rank, stuff tended to pile up. Things from over a year ago were usually found collecting dust in the back.

Obviously, no one wanted to spend the day going through that.

"Well, um. You'll do fine. Just take deep breaths before you go in there." Anko said, giving a piece of wisdom that wasn't so wise to begin with.

"She's right! You'll do okay Kurenai," Iruka contributed, giving her an encouraging smile. That was one of Iruka's many talents. He could make you feel better no matter what. Even if your puppy just died. One word from Iruka made the whole world seem brighter. "It's only one day. And I'm sure you'll find the file in no time!"

"Someone suckered into record duty?" A voice asked from behind them all. Sadly, all four highly skilled ninja jumped in reply. So much for their ego's.

Behind them stood the famed Copy-Ninja of Konoha. Hatake Kakashi. He stood in all his glory, tall and regal-looking. His mass of silver hair stood poking out to the side of his figure. His mask was in place, covering the lower half of his face, and sight from his legendary left eye was hindered by his tilted hitai-ate. His right coal, black eye, looked at them with a half-lidded gaze, slightly curious, yet wouldn't be bothered to be left in the dark. In his hand was the 'Icha Icha, Paradise' book he seemed to have glued there. Apparently, once Jiraiya tried to take it from him when Kakashi was sleeping, and it seriously would not come out of his hand. And Jiraiya found eight, angry dogs chasing him out of Konoha that night. One word. Giant dog named Bull! . . . That was four.

"Kakashi! Don't do that!" Anko yelled out once the initial fright was over with. She glared at the man, who didn't even feel the need to look intimidated.

"Kakashi." Asuma nodded in acknowledgement. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your three brats."

Kakashi shrugged in reply. "I've got a good three hours before I'm needed. Thought I'd walk around for a while. Maybe visit the book store." Decoded, that sentance translated into 'he was already late.' His response earned him three dumbfounded expressions. And one smack to the forehead, courtesy of Iruka.

"Ow! I don't think that was quite necessary, Iruka-_san_." Kakashi sent a half-hearted glare towards the chunin. But Iruka would not be discouraged, and continued to stare him down.

"You have students now Kakashi-san. Three, I happen to care about, you really should not be reading those books were they can see you! And you do it right in front of them, too!" Iruka said, completely baffled at the jonin's logic. Or lack there of.

"Hey now." Kakashi replied, waving his hands in front of him, bearing a peacekeeping smile that went unseen beneath the mask. "It's literature! Besides, I don't know why everyone comes down on me about this. They are best-sellers, which means that other people read them too."

"Other people don't walk around all day with their faces in them. Giggling randomly like a lunatic." Anko supplied, raising an eyebrow in skepticism. Asuma and Kurenai both shook their heads, knowing that you could throw a bomb at Kakashi's feet, and he'd just let it blow up in front of him, rather then be detoured away from his beloved book.

"So, what was this about paperwork?" Kakashi asked, hoping to get the attention off himself.

"The Hokage called in Kurenai to look through some paperwork from six years ago. Apparently she needs something from it." Asuma answered, as Kurenai nodded beside him.

"Sounds like a blast doesn't it?" Anko grinned, sending it in a mocking fashion towards the other female in the conversation. Kurenai glared back, unhappy that she was, as quoted, 'suckered' into doing this for Tsunade.

"Hmm. Six years, eh?" Kakashi mumbled in contemplation, a hand grasping his chin as he thought things over. Asuma, Anko and Iruka all sent sharp glances towards each other, subconsciously understanding what Kakashi had yet to voice. Kurenai, remained clueless.

"I'm sure it's nothing Kakashi." Asuma said, giving his friend a supporting hand on the shoulder. Iruka nodded, hoping to defuse Kakashi before things got out of hand. Kakashi discreetly shrugged the offered hand off, then turned around and made the motions of walking away.

"Of course Asuma. What did you think I was thinking anyway?" Kakashi asked, looking over his shoulder at the group, his one visible eyes upturned in the sign of a smile. Not expecting an answer, or just perhaps not seeking one, he started to turn away, this time, fully prepared to leave the others behind.

"Kakashi!" Anko yelled out, surprisingly as dead serious as she had ever been seen. Kakashi turned once again, and let his gaze land on the purple haired woman. Moments passed, and not one word was exchanged between the two as they simply glared at each other. The reason why, escaped mention.

Kakashi's one eye glared across the space between himself andAnko, who looked back with a furious gleam in her gaze. While Kakashi's eye held a look of anger, it was much more controlled then Anko's, refined to the point of it being barely noticeable. But his stance was not quite so composed. He was tense, ready to take fight-or-flight to a new meaning if only pushed. His eye held a fierce determination that was typically reserved for the field of battle, one that made people shiver in preparation for the final strike. They almost begged for it.

What ever it was they were silently feuding over, it appeared that a silent understanding was reached, resulting in a defeated Anko. Eventually, Kakashi's look of pure ferocity overpowered Anko, and she let out a sigh as she accepted the loss. "Just remember," She said, hoping to calm him down, even just a little bit. "Tomorrow we're all getting together for lunch. Don't be late!"

Kakashi just nodded, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. As was his fashion.

"Alright. I know I'm new and everything, but what was that about?" Kurenai asked, slightly anxious over Kakashi's behavior. He could be quite scary when he wanted to be.

"Nothing Kurenai. Nothing you have to worry about at least." Asuma said, still staring at the place where Kakashi had vanished.

"Just a grudge he hasn't let go of yet." Iruka provided, his voice surprisingly quiet.

Kurenailooked between the three of them, wondering what secret the group carried, and why it affected Kakashi like it had.

"Anyways," Asuma shouted, grinning over towards Kurenai. "Let's get a move on. Tsunade-hime isn't the patient type." Kurenai's eyes widened in surprise, realizing that in a few minutes, she'd be late, and Tsunade would not be happy.

"Right," Kurenai said, taking Asuma's arms and pulling him in the direction of the Hokage's Tower. "We've gotta go. See you Anko, Iruka!" She shouted over her shoulder as she and her escort made their way through the crown. Iruka and Anko blinked after them.

"I think we've been ditched." A bewildered Iruka said, Anko could only nod quietly beside him, before realizing that she too, had a job to do.

"Oh! Come on Iruka, we still have to tell the others about lunch tomorrow. Come on, I think I know where we'll find Gai!" Anko yelled out, her previous seriousness completely forgotten as she once again continued to drag Iruka around like a rag doll. Despite his protests.

Up on a rooftop, someone checked off a good number of people from her list.

"Only one more left. The Uchiha." And somehow, Zakuro felt her stomach twist in anxiety. This, being the person she least wanted to see.

~*~

~Konoha Village~

The sun reflected well off the polished rock, Zakuro noted. It shined brightly in her eyes, annoying her to the point of contemplating destroying the black stone. Only her better judgment held her back.

It was a good hour after she had stalked Anko and the others. It had taken her that long to gain enough guts to come to this site. And even though that thought vexed her to the point of no return, she was no coward after all, she felt that he deserved it. Her hesitation being some form of retribution. The only kind she knew how to give.

Zakuro's posture was tense and unmoving. Her arms wrapped around herself to keep out a cold that had nothing to do with the weather, which was pretty warm anyway. It chilled to the bone like no cool gust of wind would ever be able to, it numbed the senses like nothing anyone could feel on their skin. It was felt in the heart and no where else.

Regardless of her surroundings, her face remained blank, her eyes never flinched, and her lips never trembled. Though her bangs blew in her face in the slow, dying wind, she never moved them, knowing it was a useless waste of time as the wind would blow them back not to long after. She only continued to stare, staring at what was in front of her with unyielding patience.

In front of her stood a large stone. It resembled a large sun dial, a pointed piece of black polished rock laid on a platform of the same substance. Around it wood benches were placed in a circle, so people could visit the site whenever they pleased. Right now the place was deserted except for Zakuro herself, and that suited her fine.

In front of Zakuro stood the K.I.A. Monument. But of all the names on the stone, there was only one that Zakuro truly cared for at the moment, and that was the one she was watching with unwavering eyes. The name was Uchiha Obito.

With a deep breath she willed her legs to walk closer to the stone, ignoring the jerkiness of their movement. Once she reached the flat surface of the stone, which was overwhelmed with the names of Konoha's deceased heroes, she allowed her eyes to lock with the name of the one she was there to remember. Her gloved hand reached forward, and brushed Obito's name with surprisingly gentle hands, as if pressing to hard would cause the name to crumble beneath her fingertips.

"Obito." She whispered the name, finding its familiar formation, bitter on her lips. Like sea water, she noted quietly.

Zakuro stared at the name intently, as if it would change at any moment. But it didn't. It remained the same, etched into the rock with perfect lines and curves to resemble the name of who it represented. It was surprisingly ironic, that the name would be so different from the person. Perfect and orderly? A blind man could have seen that it didn't fit Obito's personality one bit.

Zakuro allowed her hand to fall to her side, and decided she might as well start what she came her for. Having a staring contest with the rock wasn't going to make this less humiliating in her eyes.

"Hey Obito. It's been along time since I was last here." Zakuro paused, not sure what else to say. Speaking to something that could never talk back was not something she was used to. After all she had never actually done it before. But a small gust of wind drew her forward, and she spoke whatever first came to her mind. "How's heaven, or wherever the heck it is you are? I'm sure your doing good, probably playing pranks on unsuspecting, recently deceased people, you brat." Zakuro spoke, an unusual sense of fondness filling her up as she continued to talk.

"I'm ashamed to admit that I'm back to stay. Tsunade-hime somehow got me into coming back to be a Konoha ninja once again. I don't understand why, though. It's not like I have the best history with following orders. As you well know." At this, Zakuro gave the stone a pointed stare, seemingly forgetting that it was an inanimate object. "My little partner in crime."

"I've actually wondered for a while," Zakuro said, unsure of continuing. She was about to confess one of the things that bothered her most about her leaving the village. And it annoyed her that Obito had this effect on her at all. Because he was dead, and the dead had no place in the world of the living. "How you would react to my leaving? I'd imagine you'd throw a fit, annoy Kakashi some, then maybe, if you really were that stupid back then, maybe come and get me."

Zakuro scoffed disdainfully. "The sad part is I could see you do that. Charging in with that damn annoying grin, saying same cheesy line, then drag me kicking and screaming back to the village. Totally uncaring about the fact that I left at all."

Zakuro paused, unable to say more. She really had no idea about what to say next, her own thoughts and feelings about the subject she drew herself into an indecisive silence. Of course, there had never been the option of that happening, since Zakuro had left long after Obito had been killed. The thought still struck her as odd. The idea of what could have happened, often playing it's fantasies through her head when she lost herself in thought. When she didn't have the power or will to repress them.

"I'm sure he would have done just that." A soft voice sounded from the side.

Zakuro allowed her eyes to widen in surprise, knowing that the reaction was shielded from view. She felt a frown pull at her lips, and her mood dampen considerably at this intrusion of her privacy.

"You must've been really caught up in the moment. It's been a long time since I've been able to catch you by surprise." Tsunadesaid as she walked to Zakuro's side, staring down at the K.I.A. Stone, rather than the person she was there to see.

Zakuro felt her frown slip into a scowl.

"Yes, well," Zakuro tried to reason, hoping to save the remaining bits of her pride from the low blow dealt to her by the current Hokage. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. Or anyone purposely trying to sneak up on me without my knowledge."

Tsunade felt a familiar smirk pull at her lips. This woman was a tub full of laughs! "Ninja's should never be caught unaware." She lectured.

Zakuro drew herself from her crouched position, and stood side by side the blonde woman who forced her company upon her. "What do you want Tsunade? Or is your only purpose here to piss me off?"

Tsunade felt surprisingly put off from that remark. "Of course not. I'm Hokage, I no longer have the time to just go out for a stroll, seeing who's available to tick off and get angry. I have responsibilities now."

Zakuro let out a small chuckle. "Well then, to what do I owe the _honor _of your presence today? One, by which, I had no wish for, as you interrupted me at a bad time?" Zakuro asked, deciding that the quicker she started playing Tsunade's game, the sooner she'd be left alone again.

"Actually, there is a certain reason that drew me out to talk to you so soon after welcoming you to Konoha." Tsunade joked, knowing that Zakuro's 'welcome', hadn't been quite so nice on the feline-ish woman at all. "It seems that in the couple of days that you've been here, you've managed to not only avoid being detected-a feat I give you congrats on-, you've also managed to gain a new friend. Which is completely uncharacteristic of you."

Zakuro's eyes narrowed dangerously, feeling the woman beside her tense as well, yet couldn't quite place why. "Have you been spying on me?" She accused.

Tsunade scoffed in reply. "I told you that there would be ANBU aware of your presence. They seem to think it's a good idea to keep an eye on you in their free-time."

"ANBU don't have free-time." Zakuro countered, thoroughly upset about this. She rebuked herself for not having questioned the presences that seemed to follow her around Konoha for the past few days. _'A few years out of action, and I get soft.' _However, she promised herself to 'have a talk' with the next ANBU she felt around.

"And the kid's hardly a friend. He's just some boy." Zakuro answered the unasked question that Tsunade had reclined from voicing. For some strange reason, the Hokage let out a sigh of relief, and her stance visibly relaxed. Zakuro couldn't imagine why.

"That kid is hardly just some boy, Zakuro." Tsunade started, letting relief wash across her face, as she turned her head to watch the sky. Puffy, white cloud slowly made their way across the sky, and the sun shined down upon Konoha with a serene glow.

"He's the one that holds the Nine-Tailed Fox within him."

Zakuro honestly hadn't expected that. Shock was apparent on her face, and for once, Zakuro didn't feel the need to mask it. "The Kyuubi?" She breathed out, and confirmed this when Tsunade nodded, her face equally grim.

Zakuro turned away, to caught up in her thoughts to care about what Tsunade might say next. Naruto was the Kyuubi? He had been the baby that Minato had chosen to hold the burden of the demon fox that had threatened the village, almost 14 years ago?

Zakuro remembered that night. The one filled with darkness, screams, and the fear of what tomorrow might bring. She regretted that night as well. Watching Minato leave with a new born baby in his arms. She remembered clutching the hand of the shinobi that had been her partner for so long, as they watched the Yondaime Hokage walk away. He had been grinning affectionately over his shoulder the whole time while he was in sight.

It was a terrifying thought, the Kyuubi, in such a young and small boy.

"I understand." Zakuro said after some moment in thought and remembrance. "If I had plans to destroy this village, or any plans of mass-destruction, Naruto would be a good place to start." She realized why Tsunade had been so tense just before. She had feared that Zakuro was only here to capture Naruto, and use him in some heinous scheme for power. "I assure you, that I hold no such plans. It was a chance meeting, that's all.

"But I can't believe that, that is the grown up version of the little boy from that night." Zakuro said, still finding the idea unbelieving to say the least. "He's grown up interestingly enough." She said, holding back a small smile that threatened to overthrow the small frown that was currently there at the thought of the boy. She had quickly grown attached to the boy in the few amount of days she had spent with him. He was surprisingly love-able with that determined and over zealous attitude he had.

Tsunade let out a small, disapproving snort. "As well as anyone who's hated by the whole village can be. I've heard stories about it, Zakuro," Tsunade said, casting a small glance to her companion. "It's not pretty. The kid was pretty much ignored the whole time. Denied by the villagers even the right to live. It's only been within the last year or so that it's changed."

Zakuro caught Tsunade's gaze, and allowed a curious look to come across her face. She wondered idly, what it was like to grow up in such a hostile environment as that. One where you were denied the right to even exist. "You seem unusually caring about this boy." Zakuro observed.

"What can I say, the kid got to me." Tsunade joked as she shrugged off the attention, and grinned over at Zakuro. "So you should know, that if I find out you do have any plans to hurt him, I won't hesitate to eliminate you Zakuro." And this, was no jest. Tsunade's eyes hardened as they watched Zakuro, for any signs of lying. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if harm came to Naruto because of her negligence. Zakuro's response however, surprised her.

"Trust me," Words not used by Zakuro often. "The kid is safe from me. It'll be interesting to watch him continue on his path. And who knows," Zakuro said as she grinned over to Tsunade, a look of such completely carefree-ness that it reminded Tsunade of when she knew Zakuro way back when. Before the duties of a shinobi and adult life had gotten in the way of childish ambitions. "I might be inclined to help him along the way. After all, power like that is envied by a lot of people."

Tsunade nodded, missing the knowing and serious look that flashed behind Zakuro's eyes, for she knew, exactly who wanted power like that. "I'll hold you to that Zakuro. You don't give your word unless you truly mean it. And I've only ever heard you say the words 'trust me' to one other person before." Tsunade tactfully avoided the subject of who that person was.

Zakuro, just as tactfully, didn't bring the subject any further. "Well, I'll be off then, Hokage-_sama_," An infectious grin lit up her face as she continued on. "I've got places to be, and this subject is boring me."

With a puff of smoke, the woman was gone, leaving Tsunade alone to think things over. Wondering if it really was a good idea to bring Zakuro back in the first place. After all, what right did she have to mess with fate?

~*~

**Ramblings of an Author:**

Ha! Thought I was talking about Sasuke for a second there didn't you?! But nope! Obito was much more interesting to write about, despite being dead. R.I.P Obito.

This part was mostly filler. I really just needed to set up a few things for future chapters, plus it caught my attention that Zakuro would have had no way of knowing what Naruto really was, so this seemed like a nice way of introducing that fact to her. And on the bright side, Kakashi entered the story, at last! Admittedly, he wasn't here for long, and I do regret the fact that he won't be seen again till after the next chapter. But he does come in when things start to get good and dramatic, so that's a plus. In the span of two chapters, I take the Naruto world, and spin it upside down. And I'll give you a warning, it'll be fun!!


	5. Team Bonding

{Hatake} .: Flawed Design :. {Kakashi} .: Part 4 :.

By: Halogirl3000

~Konoha Village~

"Gosh, Naruto! How can you eat so much of this stuff?" Haruno Sakuro asked her teammate, who was scarfing down his third bowl of ramen beside her. She glanced at the bowl, seeing the contents getting smaller and smaller every second that they remained in front of the blonde, spikey-haired ninja, a slightly disgusted look on her face.

"You can never have too much of a good thing Sakura!" Narutoreplied, a huge grin upon his face. His enthusiasm caused a small grin to flash across Sakura's face, which she succeeded in masking from the boy. It would only serveas to give him a big head if he thought he had brightened her day.

"Right, and what happens when your as big as a blimp?" Sakura replied, raising an eyebrow in skepticism as she waited for his answer. He never did get one in though, too busy choking on his last bite of ramen. He thumped his chest violently, as Sakura watch him try to dislodge whatever it was he was choking on. It wasn't like this event was rare.

"You should chew your food, idiot. Instead of just wolfing it down like you do." A sarcastic voice drew out to the side. Naruto felt his irritation rise to an extremity, one not completely foreign to him when this voice said anything, at all.

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto yelled out once he regained control of his windpipe. His bright blue eyes glared at the offender, daring him to say anything more. Which he dared to do.

"You're such an idiot Naruto. You do this everyday. Eat to the point of popping then choke like an ignoramus." Uchiha Sasuke said, leaning against the ramen bar as he faced the outer street.

The group had finished their mission for the day some time ago, then after being ditched by their teacher, had decided to go out to eat. For some unexplainable reason, together. So far the evening had been full of insults, glares, and awkward silences.

"Now guys," Sakuraintervened, hoping to savethemselvesthe trouble of starting up a fight. Which would only lead to more yelling, screaming, and physical violence. "Just give it a rest for once, please. We we're suppose to have fun as a team tonight, remember?" And suddenly both male components of said team remembered why they had ended up in the same room together to begin with. Sakurahadbegged them both to put aside their differences for one night of fun and team bonding. Didn't she realize that these two only bonded over punches. Anything else just gave them something to argue about.

Naruto let out a sigh, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty for ruining the night that Sakura had such high hopes for. But that didn't stop him from blaming Sasuke for some of it. "Sorry Sakua-chan." He said as he put down his now empty bowl, and turned towards her, a grin firmly in place. "So, now that were done eating, what do you want to do next?"

Sakura suddenly realized that she really had no such plan. To be completely honest, she didn't expect both boys to agree to spend the night together anyways. They were usually so quick to take off, well besides Naruto, who usually asked to do something, but once that was denied, took off to do whatever it is he does at night.

"Um, well," Luckily, Sakura was known for being a quick thinker. "What do you guys want to do?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto froze up on that one. What did normal teens do with their nights when they weren't training for their future careers as ninja's? Neither had an answer, and that only supplied their silence.

Sakura let out a defeated sigh, and realized that this was getting them no where fast. A small amount of regret pulled at her insides. She had only wanted on night of team togetherness. Was that so wrong?

Realizing that his silence was bringing Sakura's mood down, Naruto was quick to action. "Oh, come on Sakura!" He exclaimed as he jumped from his seated position in his chair. He turned around, sending his biggest grin her way. "I'm sure if we just walk around for a bit, we'll find something to do. I mean, this town always had at least a few things to do."

Sakura couldn't help but smile, thanking Naruto silently for trying so hard. Taking a quick glance at Sasuke, who had an equally small grin upon his own face, she rose and headed to stand beside Naruto.

"You can come too Sasuke, if you promise not to be an ass." Naruto said, watching his rival sit in his chair, still unmoving.

"Like you'd be able to stop me anyway." Sasukequicklyretorted back. He pushed himself from the counter, and took slow, uncaring steps that brought him beside his annoying teammate. "But I suppose that it'll be a lot easier to save your butt if I'm there to begin with."

Narutoletout a cry of protest, then let a small pout remain on his face at the insult. "You're not that impressive Sasuke. I can take care of myself without your help! Believe it!." He yelled out, loudly calling the attention of the street to their tiny group.

"Naruto!" Sakura threatened, glaring down at the boy, her previous gratifying thoughts quickly overlapped with anger. "Knock it off! Everyone is looking at us now!"

"Oh, Sakura," Naruto pleaded, retreating slightly in an attempt to avoid her usual oncoming fist, one that made no appearance tonight, but the underlying peril still existed. "I didn't do anything!"

Somehow, the fates were looking out for Naruto, as a simple voice saved him from Sakura's wrath.

"Geez, are you always this loud Naruto-kun?" Zakuro asked as she looked down at the miserable excuse of a shinobi before her. Having heard her comment, all three members of Team 7, looked her way. She received curious looks from two of them, the third, giving a large smile at the sight of his savior.

"Zakuro!" Naruto yelled, launching himself towards her. Zakuro's eyes widened as she recognized the oncoming threat. Remembering what happened the last time he did this, she was quick to move out of the way. Resulting in Naruto flying into a random old lady, who just happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

"Uh-oh." Zakuro muttered as she watched Naruto be assaulted by the woman, who was currently whacking his little blonde head with a cane. She had to admit, if there wasn't the serious possibility of Naruto being injured(the woman's hits looked like they hurt), she would have found this situation hilarious with a capital H!

"Um, excuse me," Zakuro hesitantly ventured, fully prepared to raise an arm to defend herself and eliminate the old woman, should she attack unprovoked. The old woman paused her actions for a moment, looking at Zakuro through narrowed eyes.

"What? I'm right in the middle of teaching this wiper-snapper a lesson about trying to mug old, defenseless, ladies!" The woman yelled out, sending one more hit to Naruto's head for good measure. Zakuro seriously doubted the woman's claim(she didn't seem defenseless to Zakuro, or anyone else who had witnessed the exchange either), but thought better of speaking her thoughts. After all, Naruto was already in enough trouble with the lady, and Zakuro didn't want to be in the same boat with him.

"Um right." Zakuro nodded, as if the woman had every right to beat Naruto with in an inch of his life. "But you see, I realize that it would be inconvenient to hold you up any longer then he already has, and even though he obviously deserves the beating from you," She quickly sent the fallen boy a glare, telling him to shut it, and let her handle things. "I can do it for you, so you can be on your way now." Zakuro finished with a prize-winning grin.

"No thank you." The woman said shortly, then returned her attention to the doomed Naruto as she continued where she left off.

Zakuro felt her eye twitch in annoyance. She was not someone to just blow off like that. "Listen lady," she said, walking forward, and grabbed the uplifted cane into her hand. "You seriously have to stop. Any more, and I doubt he'll be able to walk for a week So lower your cane and walk away." Zakuro stated, layering her voice with authority, and the unsaid warning of being fully capable of handling one old woman.

With a huff, the woman shook off Zakuro grasp on her cane. Walking away, she discretely kicked Naruto in the stomach, resulting in another groan from the fallen warrior. The group watched as she made her way from the crowd, who parted in fear as she passed, and disappeared behind a corner.

"Crazy civilian." Zakuro muttered as she helped Naruto to his feet. With a quick assessment of his body, she determined that no lasting damage had been inflicted. But he sure would be sore tomorrow!

"Ow! That woman was out of her mind! I ought' a go hunt her down and demand an apology!" Naruto yelled, infuriated at having been beat up by an old woman.

"Nice Naruto." Sasuke said from the side of the street as Zakuro brushed of dirt from her favorite genin. "Not only did you manage to look like an idiot for the whole town to see, but you got your butt handed to you by an old lady." The ever potent grin was set in place as he egged Naruto on.

With a yell of fury, Naruto made the motion of running towards Sasuke, only to be jerked back into place by a tug on his collar. With a choking sound, he felt his body fall back to the ground, and he glared up at the offending woman who had caused his newest injury.

"Stop it Naruto-kun." Zakuro said, looking down at him from where she stood, and then turned her attention to the Uchiha. "You too. The woman was simply insane, and it would have been an unfair fight if Naruto had chosen to defend himself. So just leave the occurrence where it belongs. In the past."

Both Sakura and Sasuke were surprised to say the least with the sudden appearance of this strange woman. Not only did she look slightly out of place, her looks completely exotic to this part of the world, but her familiar-ism to Naruto as well.

"And who are you?" Sasuke asked, glaring at the woman who dared order him around. Sakura nodded from her place beside him, curious as to how this woman knew Naruto. He did seem to know quite the odd number of people. But there was something that seemed different about this woman. Maybe because she really was quite pretty, and Sakura wondered what she had to do with Naruto at all.

Zakuro grinned at them, amusement shining in her eyes as she received the interrogation from this group. No matter what generation, it seemed, team 7 was a bunch of odd-balls.

"This is Zakuro!" Naruto answered for her, throwing his upper body from the ground, and smiled at his teammates. "She's the reason I was late to training a few days ago." Naruto's face morphed into one of accusation as he turned to look up at Zakuro, who raised an eyebrow in question. "Because of you I was late to my training! Even later then Kakashi-sensei!"

Zakuro snorted in defiance. "That's not my problem. It's not like I tied you to a chair to keep you there. You were too busy eating your ramen to notice the time." Zakuro said, glaring down at the boy as she placed a hand on his head to mess up his hair. The limb was quickly pushed away though, as Naruto jumped to his feet.

"So what! If you hadn't have distracted me I wouldn't have been late!" Naruto yelled back, unwilling to accept the blame.

"Well I'm sorry!" Zakuro answered back, glaring down at the boy who dared push his responsibilities on her. She hardly cared enough to handle her own. "I didn't realize I had become you baby-sitter! I'll be sure to make sure you eat all your snacks and go to bed on time from now on, though!"

Naruto huffed, and turned away, deeply offend at being treated like a little child, regardless of how he acted like one. With a tired sigh Zakurocontinued on. "Give it a rest Naruto. It's hardly worth fighting over." Half of this was said for her own benefit. She really was too drained to continue a fight anyway.

"So," Zakuro said, changing the topic before Naruto could protest. "Who are you two then?" She asked, looking at the two kids who looked about Naruto's age. She grinned slightly when the girl blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to met you Zakuro-san." The girl said with a smile towards Zakuro, who returned it. She liked this girl, having seen how she handled Naruto before Zakuro made her presence known to them. The girl was a spit-fire.

"And you?" Zakuro indicated to the boy, who still remained unmoving.

"Uchiha Sasuke." The boy said in monotone. Had Zakuro been anyone else, she would have let the shock and familiarity of the name reflect across her face. But Zakuro had been expecting the day of running into this kid for years now, and was fully capable of throwing off the feelings she had towards his life easily. Or particularity, someone in his life.

"Nice to meet you guys." Zakuro said, as she turned back to the still pouting Naruto. That one quick look was all that was needed to remind herself of the conversation she had just had with Tsunade not an hour earlier. Zakuro seemed unable to think of anything except for the fact that somehow, the Kyuubi was inside Naruto. She wondered idly, what exactly Minatohadbeen thinking when he condemned this kid to live with that burden. _'Probably saying every apology under the sun.'_

"So, what are you guys doing, just wondering the street at this hour?" Zakuro asked, quickly taking her gaze off of Naruto before anyone realized she had been staring.

"Oh," Sakura said, walking up to Zakuro and Naruto, deciding that this woman wasn't a threat. She seemed nice enough after all. "Just deciding what to do with the rest of our evening We had planned to spend it together, but we we're just talking about what we were going to do when you showed up."

Zakuro nodded, the smile on her face encouraging the girl to be so open with her. "Sounds nice. With all the training Naruto's told me you guy's do, just spending time together must be tough to fit into your schedule." Sasuke had, reluctantly, by this time walked forward as well, feeling like a fool watching from the side of the road.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of the whole group to him. "I just had an idea! What about a sleep over! Just the three of us. We could watch movie's, and play games!"

"How juvenile." Sasuke said, though seemingly interested with where this idea could take them.

Sakura nodded excitedly, wondering why Naruto had said such a great idea that she hadn't thought of. Must have been those hits to the head. "Yeah! That sounds like a great idea Naruto!" A thought struck Sakura not a moment later, causing her to pause and look questionable at the ground. Zakuro, remained silent as they continued their deliberations.

"But where would we have it? My parents aren't going to say yes this late, and there's not enough room at your apartment for all three of us, Naruto." Sakura stated, bringing up a very good point. Both looked to the remaining member, who had not said a word. Upon realizing they were staring him down, he shook his head. No one would be allowed into the Uchiha compound for a sleepover. At least not this time.

Both Naruto and Sakura's head's slumped forward, seeming accepting defeat. It seemed there was no hope for the sleepover idea, or so it seemed before Naruto lifted his head and realized there was still one last option.

Zakuro was quick to notice when Naruto's intense fascination with the ground ended. It would have been difficult not to notice, since his attention had immediately changed to herself. A few moments passed as the two shared a staring contest, one grinning widely, while the other look on in confusion. That was until, she realized what his idea detailed, of course.

And she was quick to shoot it down.

"Hell no!" Zakuro said as she immediately turned to get away. Sakura and Sasuke had by now noticed the exchange, and realized what Naruto was implying. Naruto himself, was currently running to head Zakuro off, which he did manage somehow.

"Come on Zakuro! Why can't we spend the night over at your house! It'll be fun, and I promise we won't break anything!" Naruto encouraged, trying to break down Zakuro's resistance to the idea.

"Why not?" Zakurorepeated. "I'll give you one reason why not! Because I don't know you guys! I mean, besides you Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke aren't going to want to spend the night at a house, belonging to a person they don't know." Zakuro reasoned. Naruto only shook his head stubbornly.

"I wouldn't mind." Sakura voices, surprising the feuding two from their current argument. "I mean, Sasuke-kun and Naruto are going to be there as well. So it'll be okay I'm sure."

"And besides," Sasuke added to the conversation. "It's not like there's a threat. We're ninja, we wouldn't be caught by surprise by a civilian like you." Zakuro felt her composure slip as she looked at the two, wondering why the academy graduated a bunch of morons.

"You're serious?" Zakurocouldn't help but ask, honestly curious as to why they were so quick to go along with Naruto's crazy plan. The two nodded in decisiveness, assuring Zakuro of their decision.

In front of Zakuro, Naruto was grinning like a fool.

"Fine!" Zakurofinally gave in, knowing that she'd regret this in the morning. Or quite possibly earlier then that. "Fine. You guys can use my apartment for your little sleepover." With a sigh she turned towards the road, starting on her way home. "Just follow me."

~*~

The trip went surprisingly quickly. The constant talk from Sakura and Naruto supplied Zakuro with enough peace to refrain from kicking the small blonde, and they got to the apartment without incident.

"Okay, we're here." Zakuro interrupted the three from their small squabble as they reached the outside of her apartment complex. The three immediately quieted, as they looked around themselves to take in the surroundings. It was then that they realized something.

"This is the ritzy side of town." Sakura commented, receiving a chuckle from Zakuro right after.

"Yup! Welcome to the North side of Konoha! Known as snob central!" Zakuro laughed out, starting to make her way towards the door so she could get into her apartment. It felt odd, coming in this way. Usually, she just used the window on her balcony for an entry. It was quicker like that.

"You live here? Sakura asked, following her inside, like her two companions. The comment only served to amuse Zakuro more.

"Yes. My apartment is on the sixth floor of this place. I have the whole level, so no one will bother us up there." Zakuro stated as she pressed the button to summon the elevator to the ground floor. The three continued to look about the fancy lobby, making small comments and such as they waited. Within moments the door clicked and whooshed open, revealing a stylish interior.

Climbing into the elevator, the group watched as Zakuro pushed in the sixth level button. The doors closed with a small sound, and they felt the small tug of gravity as they made their way up the building.

"Sakura," Zakuro said as she waited for the elevator to reach her apartment. "I have a phone, so you'll be able to call your parents to tell them where you'll be." Sakura nodded, saying a quick thank you as she looked out the window that the elevator possessed. Sasuke took a quiet note of Zakuro's offer, realizing that she refrained from giving it to Naruto or himself. As if she knew they didn't have anyone to call.

The ride ended quickly. The ding of the doors sounded, and a second later they opened up to show a small hallway, leading up to a white door at its end.

Zakuro took quick steps off the elevator, and reached behind a potted plant to grab a key that was hidden there, typically by a genjutsu. But the kid's didn't need to know that little fact.

Easily fitting the key into the slot, Zakuro twisted and heard the lock click. She let out a small giggle, When was the last time she used this door? Even before she left Konoha, she didn't usually come in this way, as stated before.

"Well, welcome to my humble abode!" Zakuro said as she opened the door and walked in, letting her three guests in behind her. She quickly disposed of the key on a near by table, and watched as the three looked around in wonder.

Her apartment was quite large. From the door, you entered into a small hallway that lead you into a wide open area which served as a large gathering room, which consisted of a large t.v., sofa's, and stairs against the wall to get to the lifted platform above. To the right of the room, was an open entryway into the kitchen, which was bigger then Zakuro had ever needed. In between the kitchen room, and the walls of the hall was another thin hallway, this one leading to a storage closet at its end. On the wall of this hallway, however, was a large assortment of swords, polished and sharp. Just how Zakuro liked them.

On the second level of her apartment was a small platform that served as a landing to the three rooms up there. One large bathroom, and the master bedroom. The last room served as a study room, or guest room, depending on if you wanted to use the bed or the desk that occupied it.

All and all, it was an impressive space to live in.

"Sorry about the dust." Zakurosaidas she trailed her finger against one of the shelves that lined the room with the t.v. "I haven't had the chance to clean up yet. But it should be fine. There's not a lot of it." Indeed, the layer on her glove was surprisingly thin. Not more then was typical of her anti-cleaning self.

"Have you been gone?" Sakura asked, noticing the conditions of things. Everything looked untouched, and there was a distinct lack of anything to personalize the house. Besides some kanji painting that hung on the walls, and small ornaments that lined some of the less occupied shelves.

"Yeah." Zakuro admitted. "I was away traveling for awhile. I only just got back a few day ago." She walked around into the room, where one, three man sofa, and two large armchairs surrounded a rectangular, glass table in front of the t.v. which was hung on the wall. She had realized that Sarutobi must have had someone take care of the place while she had been away. There was no other possibility for the fine conditions of her things.

"Those swords on the wall," Sasuke said, looking over at them with interest. Zakuro withheld a smirk. _'It must run in the blood. The fascination with swords. __**He**__ was like that too.' _Zakuro noted as Sasuke walked closer to them.

"You like them?" Zakuro asked, coming up on his side. She saw his nod, too preoccupied with inspecting them to say a word. The other two had walked closer as well, looking at the impressive number of swords that hung on wooden slates.

"They seem well kept after." Sasuke said, looking over them with an knowledgeable eye. "You have so many." The comment was an obvious one. But it just didn't seem right without someone having mentioned it.

"There must be at least ten of them." Naruto said, looking over them much quicker then Sasuke. He admittedly found them interesting, just not quite so captivating.

"There are thirteen in all." Zakuro said proudly, looking them over with softened eyes. "I got them all from my family. They were really into swords, and somehow found themselves with quite the collecting after some years."

"I only count eleven." Sakura noted from the side. Zakuro nodded in confirmation.

"I gave away one of them some years ago. And I keep the other one in a special place. It being my favorite and all." Zakuro said, answering the question with a smile.

"Why'd you give it away?" Naruto asked, looking over at Zakuro with curious eyes. It didn't seem to make much sense to him, just giving away a sword. "Did you sell it or something?"

Zakuroshookher head at the question, an honest laugh coming out of her. "No. I just gave it away." She commented, ignoring Naruto's and Sasuke's look. One that clearly said 'you're an idiot'. "Not that it was completely free. I do expect it back from him one day. The next time I see him."

"What if he doesn't want to give it back?" Sasuke questioned, curious as to why someone would trust someone else with a sword. And if it had been anything like the ones here, it would've been valuable.

"Well then," Zakuro grinned somewhat mischievously at this. "I'll just have to take it from him. Won't I?" She turned back around after that, not caring to see the expressions the comment had imposed on the three. Which was shock, confusion, and surprise. All wrapped into one.

"Now!" Zakuro started again once everyone had gotten away from the swords. "You all are free to do as you wish. Just don't break anything, and stay away from things that look valuable. You're free to use the kitchen, just clean up your mess because I won't, and try to contain any outbreaks of fires as well as you can." Zakuro ignored the various reactions, though did take some bit of pride in being able to get the three genin's faces so many different colors. "Since we had one girl, and two boys in your group, Sakura," Said genin straitened at this. "You'll be sleeping in the guest bedroom upstairs." Turning towards the two boys, Zakuro let a grin overflow her face. "You two, will have the couch. It pulls out into a queen size bed, which should be large enough for the two of you."

"But I don't want to sleep with Sasuke!" Naruto whined. Zakuro ignored the mocking retort that was begging itself to be made, and sent the boy a glare.

"It would be improper, and irresponsible of me as your guardian for the night to allow Sakura to sleep in a bed with one of her male teammates. I want no angry parents after my ass for this." Zakuro replied, crossing her arms firmly in front of her chest, not giving an inch. Sasuke muttered angrily under his breath from his place on the couch beside his teammate. Apparently, he didn't like the idea much either.

"Hey!" Sakura exclaimed from her place on the side of the t.v. She had been curious as to the movies that Zakuro had lined up in a small shelf against the side of the t.v., and had gone to investigate. "You have Troy! Even better, it's the semi-old one! That one is way better then the re-make they have out in theatre's now!"

Zakuro grinned as she watched Sakura get up from her kneeling position. "It's a good movie. I went to it in theatre's with a friend of mine, and we ended up getting kicked out after she tried of kiss the face of Achilles on the widescreen." Zakuro told fondly, remembering Anko's obsession with Brad Pitt at the time. They were fourteen years old for crying out loud, and he was a hot teen icon. Regardless of if the man was a ninja or not.

Sakura laughed, understanding exactly why that was totally acceptable, herself being a girl and all. Naruto and Sasuke however, didn't share the sentiment.

"I'm not watching a movie where you'll be squealing through the whole thing." Sasuke said, completely refusing to demote himself to the level. Naruto, for once, agreed.

"Yeah! No fan-girling over some ham actor!"

Sakurasupplied a quick whack, surprisingly to both of them. Apparently, she was incredibly protectiveofBrad Pitt, and Orlando Bloom. "Shut up! There's action in it for the two of you, so give it a rest." With that threat in the air, and two scared stiff guys, Sakura gave the dvd over to Zakuro, who was watching all this with wide eyes. _'That girl is like a mini Tsunade, with Jiraiya and Orochimaru following right behind.'_

With a quick laugh, Zakuro flipped on the t.v. and proceeded to place the movie in motion. Sakura had taken to one of the armchairs, and was curled up in a warm, fleece blanket to keep herself warm. Naruto and Sasuke had made themselves comfortable on opposite ends of the couch, glaring at each other through out the movie. Sakura had insisted that Zakuro watch the movie as well, already feeling a sense of friendship with the older woman who was able to so effectively shut Naruto up. So Zakuro watched from the other armchair, legs draped haphazardly over the armrest.

Not even ten minutes in, Naruto had complained of lack of snacks, and went into the kitchen with Zakuro to scrounge up whatever they could find. They came back with a few bowl of deliciously buttered popcorn, some candies(of various kinds), and soda's. Sakura took a small bowl of popcorn, and the watermelon tasting sour patches. Sasuke and Naruto were sharing a large bowl of popcorn between the tow of them, and had a couple of pop's opened on the table in front of them. Zakuro, opted for a cup of hot chocolate. It, being her favorite.

Throughout the movie, Sakura and Zakuroweremaking small comments about the boys, and their, impressive looks. Zakuro claiming it was okay because the boys were all older then her anyways. So it wasn't creepy in the least.

"But you're like, thirty?" Naruto asked when this certain topic came up. And he found a fluffy pillow smothered in his face for the comment. Courtesy of Zakuro.

"I'm 24 you, brat!" Zakuro had responded back with hostile-ness. The proceeded to ignore his whining for the rest of the movie.

Two hours, and forty two minutes later, the group found themselves staring at a black background as the name of actors and contributors rolled up the screen. With a yawn Zakuro found herself surrounded by tired teens. Annoying ones who wouldn't admit to being tired.

"Look guys, it's already 12:30. So just get to bed before I have to deal with you guys falling asleep in the most inconvenient places." Zakuro argued against the whining from the group. Ushering Sakura up the stairs she called back to the boys. "Take off the cushions from the sofa. I'll be right back down after I find Sakura something to wear to sleep." To the tired Sakura she added. "I should have something old that will fit you. We'll just have to look, and you might be sleeping in something a bit baggy."

Ten minutes later, after Sakura had been situated in the guest room, Zakuro made her way back down towards the two sleepy boys. "Okay, help me pull this out." She said as she reached the couch. To tired to complain, the three somehow managed to pull out the folding bed, put blankets and sheets on it, and find pillows from somewhere.

"Okay, so you guy's be okay down here by yourselves?" Zakuro asked, more concerned about being woken up in the middle of the morning because of these two duking it out on in her living room.

"Don't worry about us Zakuro," Naruto grinned lazily at her. "We're ninja, we can take care of ourselves." Zakuro shook her head, letting the misunderstanding slide as she realized these two were too tied to start anything with each other.

"Alright, good night boys." Zakuro said as she made her way up the stairs for the last time that evening. Receiving mumbles back she let out a small grin as she closed the door to her own room, shutting out the rest of the world.

Slowly making her way over to her bed, she laid back with tiredness she hadn't felt since her last run of non-stop missions.

'_Genins.' _She thought with a small grin as she pulled herself under the covers and prepared herself for sleep. _'They'll do that to you.'_

~*~

**Ramblings of an Author: **

I admit, I sort of have to laugh at my lateness. I've had this part written up for a few weeks, and for some reason I completely forgot about it. So, all I can say is sorry, and hope you all will forgive me. Well, I'm pretty satisfied with the part. It was the first real team 7 I've introduced into the story, and I hope that I kept it pretty in-character. I realize that sleep overs are probably uncommon in the Naruto world, but I needed something to get Zakuro and team 7 together in this part. Just be happy I didn't resort to plan B. . . It involved kidnapping.

I also realize that the idea of staying over at some strangers house is completely unrealistic, which is why I had a small bit of clarification with Sakura and Sasuke saying that since their ninja's it wasn't an issue. Because really, ninja's spend weeks at a time with strangers as their mission details, so they should be sort of used to it.

I've hinted at a few things in this part. Probably pretty obvious things, but I thought it worked out well. It gets you guys thinking about Zakuro's connections and past, which will be a BIG part of the next chapter. Speaking of which, we're starting to get into the more dramatic parts of the story, and within the next two parts, things go boom! Not really, but we get some conflicts and fights, which will be fun cause they'll be the first ones of this story. Hopefully, you guys will stick around for it!!

I want to make a special thank you to KuroShinigami13, for being the first person to review the story, and for the ones who added it to their favorites and alert lists! I hope I continue to make the story worth your time and attention, thank you!


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